New to these forums and just want to say thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this

I put together a new rig recently and it's running great with the exception of the bad luck I've had with some PSU's. I started out with this OCZ Fatal1ty 750W PSU which had pretty annoying coil whine when under load during games. I exchanged it for another thinking it was a defect in that particular PSU only to have the exact same problem with the replacement.

Finally I decided to pop in my old XIGMATEK PSU that I had in my old rig which had never whined for the 3 years I've had it, and now it's started to emit an annoying pulsing whine that making it hard to concentrate while using my computer. Difference is with this one it whines only when it's NOT under load. It seems to start just AFTER I've done some gaming or after a lengthy period of light use (internet browsing). It produces a whine that pulses on and off with seemingly no correlation to what I'm doing. The computer could just be idling or I could be surfing the internet and it will just whine and whine and whine.

Sooo to get to the point. Could I have some sort of combination of hardware that's going to cause any PSU I buy to whine? I'm hoping not considering the whine I've experienced with each PSU has occurred under different loads and didn't have the same pitch. Thing is, I REALLY hate having to change out my PSU as it takes me forever to route cables to my liking, and I REALLY don't want to purchase another PSU only to have the same problem again, but my hate of the whine is strong enough that I would rather switch it out again if I can be be pretty certain I'm not going to have the same problems. I've seen pretty good reviews for both this 650W and 750W Corsair PSUs. Would anyone recommend those or do I need to cough up more cash and go with the AX series? I'd prefer to save money if I can but I also really really really don't want any more coil whine.

I'd like to buy it asap if I'm going to because newegg has a good price on Corsair's right now. If anyone out there has a similar system and has a PSU that they're happy with I'd really appreciate any other suggestions as well! Only thing that is a must for me is that's it's modular. Thanks to anyone who can help

Could I have some sort of combination of hardware that's going to cause any PSU I buy to whine?

This is not likely to be true, but it could be what's happening to those 2 PSUs you've already tried. You might have had the bad luck combo with the OCZ (which is newer, right?) and with the Xigmatek, its age might be showing up. Really hard to tell w/o hands on experimentation.

It sounds to me like you have to bite the bullet and try another PSU, a new highly lauded model, and see what happens. If this PSU develops some kind of problem, time to swap out other components. The #1 suspect would be the biggest power sucker in the system -- the EVGA GTX 560 Ti Superclocked. If the whining noise stops with another VGA card, then you know.

If you don't have another VGA card to swap out, here's an experiment you could try -- plug the OCZ PSU into the same wall outlet or power bar as your PC, disconnect the power connectors between the xigmatek PSU and the VGA card, and connect up the VGA power connectors from the OCZ to the VGA card. In other words, supply power to the VGA card from the 2nd PSU. There should not be any risk of destructive interaction between the 2 PSUs, they will share the same common ground. (If I am wrong, someone will soon pipe up here. ) Now monitor both PSUs for electronic noise while you try gaming, etc.

Post subject: Re: Bad luck with PSUs, could use some advice on a new one!

Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:10 am

Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:38 pmPosts: 3

Thanks for the response

Unfortunately I don't have the OCZ PSU anymore. I had exchanged the first one I got for the exact same model and experienced the same problem, at which point I popped in my XIGMATEK PSU and returned the second OCZ PSU.

I do have GTX 260 from my last build which I popped in though and have experienced no change. Considering the GTX 260 has similar power requirements I'm not really sure how much that means, but on the bright side (I supppose) the squealing isn't occuring during gaming with the XIGMATEK PSU, it only occurs during light use (like internet browsing), and usually just AFTER I've been gaming or if I've been internet browsing for a lengthy period of time. Hopefully that means the VGA isn't the culprit.

I'm looking at this AX650 Corsair PSU as I've seen it recommended a few times on these forums. Only other question I have is should I bite the bullet and go with that AX model, or could I save a few bucks and be pretty safe with the HX650? Want to buy it today because there is a good proce on the Corsair's on newegg right now

The AX650 is better -- high efficiency, fan does not start till >200W -- and it is made by Seasonic, based on their X series. But right now, Seaasonic's own X650 is $10 cheaper, and iirc, it features the better PWM fan -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151088

The HX650 is made by CWT and is not as quiet, though it seems OK electrically, but I doubt it's as good as either of the above.

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